Hidden in museum vaults since the Iranian Revolution of 1979, new exhibition in Tehran to showcase stunning lost works including Warhol, Monet, Lichtenstein and Pollock.
Whilst Tehran may not be the first city which springs to mind when thinking of where to view contemporary art, it is home to some of the most important artistic treasures in the art world, including paintings by the likes of Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, Degas and Kandinsky. The Iranian capital’s Museum of Contemporary Art was built by the Shah’s wife Empress Pahlavi in 1977, but after the 1979 Islamic revolution Western contemporary art was seen as depraved, and many of its priceless paintings were hidden by staff in the museum’s basement vault. In a new exhibition which opened on 20 November, many of these artworks were put back on display for the first time in almost 40 years, including Jackson Pollock’s Mural on Indian Red Ground, considered by many to be the artist’s best, and valued by Christie’s at $250 million five years ago.
“Tourism to Iran is really on the up, and this is just another reason to visit this culturally fascinating country,” said Wild Frontiers Founder Jonny Bealby. The adventure tour operator has offered tours to Iran for over ten years, but has seen demand to visit increase massively in the last two years, particularly with the recent nuclear agreement and lifting of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s advice against travel there.
